Heddle

[1][2] The typical heddle is made of cord or wire and is suspended on a shaft of a loom.

Heddles can be either equally or unequally distributed on the shafts, depending on the pattern to be woven.

Heddles should have a smooth eye, with no sharp edges to either catch or fray (and thus weaken) the warp.

There are three common types of metal heddles: wire, inserted eye, and flat steel.

The flat metal heddles are considered the poorest in quality as they are heavier and bulkier, as well as not being as smooth.

A very simple string heddle can be made with a series of five knots in a doubled length of cord, which creates five loops.

[5] Inkle loom heddles are generally made of string and consist of a simple loop.

If the weaver finds a mistake in the pattern, instead of rethreading all of the threads, a repair heddle can be slipped onto the shaft in the correct location.

Thus repair heddles have a method to open the bottom and top loop that holds them onto the shaft.

The advantage of non-rigid heddles is that the weaver has more freedom, and can create a wider variety of fabrics.

[6] Among hand woven African textiles, single-heddle looms are in wide use among weaving regions of Africa.

Double-heddle looms are used in West Africa, Ethiopia and in Madagascar for the production of lamba cloth.